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Sick

Tom Leveen (Goodreads Author)

3.62 · Rating details · 1,098 ratings · 264 reviews

Breakfast Club meets The Walking Dead as a group of unlikely allies tries to survive a deadly outbreak.

Brian and his friends are not part of the cool crowd. They’re the misfits and the troublemakers—the ones who jump their high school’s fence to skip class regularly. So when a deadly virus breaks out, they’re the only ones with a chance of surviving.

The virus turns Brian’s ...more

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Hardcover, 288 pages

Published October 1st 2013 by Harry N. Abrams

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YA Books - Publishing October 2013

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3.62 ·

Rating details

· 1,098 ratings · 264 reviews

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Mar 09, 2016 Aj the Ravenous Reader rated it liked it

Recommended to Aj the Ravenous Reader by: Shelby *trains flying monkeys*

Shelves: apocalyptic-post-apocalytic, easy-read, lol, physically-owned-books

A pretty SICK zombie book. A jaw hangs loose from its skull, a fist-sized hole in a throat gapes wide, facial skin slides away from the bone and kids go and be like cannibalistic lawn mowers while corpses of students litter the sidewalk. This is how graphic it gets and it was quite entertaining especially with the easy to read, funny at many places writing amplified by the pages of the book blotted out with blood-like splatters at their edges. It’s quite creative and it certainly achieved its ve ...more

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Sep 08, 2013 karen rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley, why-yes-i-ya, zombies-r-bitey

this is a fairly forgettable YA zombie novel from where i am standing in my old-lady shoes, but i think it is one that that its audience will appreciate. i can see young "reluctant reader" males getting something from it that i, supersaturated with zombie exposure, did not.

here are the book's pros:

interesting zombies:

they are speedy in that "new millennial zombie" way, and they aren't all reanimated corpses; they are ultra-strong and unusually-shaped, and… sparkly. like edward, i guess, but le ...more

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Nov 04, 2013 Anne rated it really liked it

Shelves: braaaaaains-zombies, read-in-2013, mature-ya

I'm going to warn you right off the bat that this review is probably biased and emotionally skewed.
And it's all because of my youngest daughter.
Why would a book about teenagers running around during the Zombie Apocalypse have anything to do with my 5 year old?
I'll get to it...

So this kid Brian is sort of a slacker, but not in a bad way. Just, you know, in the regular loveable slacker kind of way. He's recently broken up with his longtime girlfriend, mainly because she's got some issues that he' ...more

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Mar 16, 2016 Rachel Maniacup rated it really liked it

Recommended to Rachel by: Aj the Ravenous Reader

Shelves: action, fiction, friendship, suspense-horror, fast-pace, zombies

When my little sister got her new books including this..she said this one's about zombies,and I was like,"Yay! I want that,I want that! I'm gonna read that!". And seeing the title made me more excited to read this book,wondering how sick this could be,especially when this is my first of Tom Leveen.

So yes,this is a story of teenagers who got stuck in their school in a zombie apocalypse..If you want to know how and when it started,you've got to read this book! The strange thing is that,they're not ...more

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Aug 08, 2013 Greg rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley, i-walked-with-a-zombie-rawr, books-for-kids

Am I supposed to say thank you to netgalley and let people know that I got the book for free to read? I know everyone does this. In the interest of full disclosure I guess I should mention it, too. I guess I should also mention that almost every book I've read recently has been a free book I've gotten directly or indirectly from a publisher and that I kind of only want to read ARC's anymore because I'm too lazy to spend the minute it takes to sign in a non-ARC into work.

So disclosure said. I sh ...more

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Jun 13, 2013 Jon rated it did not like it

Shelves: zombies-brains, paranormal, dystopia-post-apocalyptic, e-books, arc

Check out Scott Reads It! for reviews, giveaways, & more!
I had been longing to read Sick ever since I saw that it was being marketed as "Breakfast Club meets The Walking Dead". Sick was even one of my "Waiting On Wednesday" picks in July and I was dying to read it. Sick just might be my most disappointing book of 2013 by a long shot.

Don't believe Sick's description at all, the marketing for this book is built on false pretenses. When I read "Breakfast Club meets The Walking Dead", I shou Check out Scott Reads It! for reviews, giveaways, & more!
I had been longing to read Sick ever since I saw that it was being marketed as "Breakfast Club meets The Walking Dead". Sick was even one of my "Waiting On Wednesday" picks in July and I was dying to read it. Sick just might be my most disappointing book of 2013 by a long shot.

Don't believe Sick's description at all, the marketing for this book is built on false pretenses. When I read "Breakfast Club meets The Walking Dead", I should have known it was a gimmick because that comparison is too good to be true. Sick is nothing like The Breakfast Club at all and doesn't deserve to be compared to such a classic movie. The only element of Sick that remotely resembles The Breakfast Club is the fact that kids from different cliques and walks of life are stuck in the same room. That's where the similarities to The Breakfast Club start and end. Sick is NOT a coming-of-age story despite the comparison and the characters don't progress morally at all to justify the comparison.

I can definitely understand the comparisons to The Walking Dead and it's a pretty accurate comparison. There is a lot of survival aspects of this story and there are a ton of gory zombie moments in this book. I love gore in books, but Sick felt excessively gore to the point where I didn't feel so well. The zombie aspects of Sick are executed well for the most part. Leveen has created a new type of zombie, these buggers are hunched and have crystalline features. At one point in the story, the zombies were described as sparkling and I couldn't help but be reminded of Twilight. I appreciate Leveen's efforts to create a new type of zombie, but we have enough sparkling paranormal creatures, thank you very much. Zombies don't need to sparkle, it's unnecessary and I'm not ready for zombies to be ruined for me. Vampires were taboo for me for a long period of time and I refuse to let that happen to zombies.

Sick has some of the least intelligent characters I've read about ever and they frustrated me to no end. In addition to this, some of the characters also enjoy racist jokes. Here are some lovely quotes from this glorious book:

Exhibition A: Let's be offensive and racist! I didn't know being a bigot was in season?
"I didn't know a black kid could be pale, but Hollis is."

"Maybe they're bustin' him for somethin'"
"Like what?"
"Bein' black"
"Good point"

"Are you, like one of those high-functioning retards?" he asks.
"Because I'll kick your Mexican ass square into next week, ese."

"This is the United States of America," Kat says, pretty calm under the circumstances. "We're not in Rwanda here, you guys. Someone'll show up, we've just got to sit tight."

Exhibition B: Let the idiocy begin!
"What the snap crackle fuck you talkin' about?"

"Let's go fuck this monkey"

"Say the world, and we're off like a prom dress."

"It's Chad o'clock, motherfuckers."

"Just out of curiousity, is there a Spanish word for zombie?"
Jamie considers this a second before suggesting "Zombrero?"

I wish I could say that these quotes made sense when in context, but that's not the case. This book gives teenagers a bad image and makes all teens look brain-dead. I kid you not, my e-ARC was filled with random quotes that made me want to weep for humanity. None of the characters are likeable at all and the MC never ceased to irritate me with his constant need to judge everyone. If you're questioning whether to read Sick or not, it really depends if you'll be offended by racism, prejudice, and mindlessness.

I wish I could say the plot makes up for the horrendous dialogue and frighteningly unlikable characters. The plot is nothing special at all and is an average zombie story. There is a lot of running around, panicking, planning to escape, and people trying to figure out how the zombies were created. Sick stoops lower and lower as the book goes on and even manages to use a bunch of cliches. The characters even made a Lord Of The Flies joke, how clever! Not to mention that I've seen this story countless times and I just couldn't really immerse myself in this book. Luckily, I read Sick pretty quickly considering how much I hated it. The plot is extremely fast-paced and it always seems like there is something going on. I may not have enjoyed Sick, but I give credit to Leveen for making sure there is never a lull in the plot.

Sick by Tom Leveen is definitely one of the worst books I've read all year. I honestly couldn't handle the excessive racism, offensive humor, and goriness. I'm not sure if I would recommend this one to anyone at all; I'm still not sure who the target audience for this one is because it manages to offend people from many different walks of life. Sick never ceases to be crude at all and I'm still questioning why this book is going to be published. Yikes! ...more

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Jan 02, 2014 Kimberley doruyter rated it really liked it · review of another edition

makes you scared to go to school.
kinda wanna know how other people got throught that crap.
and how did it all start.
would really read a sequel/prequel if there ever came one.

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Jul 03, 2013 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it liked it

Shelves: zombies

Not the best zombie book I've read but most certainly not the worst. It did have it's moments. It's marketed as a young adult novel so it did come across sometimes as juvenile but I still likey it. Plus it did have zombies in it.

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Jun 26, 2013 Laura rated it liked it

Shelves: zombie

3.5 Stars

Sick by Tom Leveen is one hell of a seething, drooling, bone crunching tale packed with suspense! A quick jolt to the system with humor, action, and gore. I had to keep reading! Had to know, had to find out!

Readers are introduced to a small band of kids and friends that roam the hallways of Phoenix Metro High School. The typical jocks rule the school attitude prevails with a few side pockets of fun and mischief. But our story focuses around Brian and his best friend Chad, who appear to ...more

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Sep 04, 2013 Dayla rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, egalley, arc, young-adult, zombies, creepy, horror, great-pacing, great-writing, strong-protagonist

Review first appeared on my blog: Book Addict 24-7

I received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Sick by Tom Leveen is an unconventional zombie read that is getting some backlash on Goodreads for a few of the characters’ comments and behaviors. I’m going to state this from the get-go, just so my opinion is clear: I do not think Leveen’s intent was to be unknowingly racist or for his writing to be portrayed as one of a bigot. His book’s “heroes” are in fact anti-heroes, which are ...more

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Jun 23, 2016 Melanie (TBR and Beyond) rated it liked it

Shelves: ya-horror, books-i-own, read-in-2016

"The parking lot is a killing field."

This book is a mixed bag for me. While it was a fun read, I can't claim that it was anything special.

There are minor spoilers in this review.

Sick features a cast of highschoolers who are suddenly all getting "sick." At first they think it's just a flu until their flesh start falling off and they go on a murderous rampage, eating everyone in sight. Our protagonist, Brian, is stuck at the school with his best friend Chad in the drama room with a bunch of other students. He's been separated from his sister and ex-girlfriend and he can't get ahold of either of them. This book is all about survival of the fittest and what you are willing to do to save the people you care about.

I was so on-the-fence about what rating to give this. I don't know that it is a three star book, the writing isn't very good. It's quite clunky at parts and sometimes that was hard to ignore. I also had a horrible time liking the main character, to the point that I almost stopped reading the book in the first few chapters. I can't think of a character right now that annoyed me as much as this one did. I tried to cut him some slack because he was a 17 year old boy, but ugh. The fact that he had broken up with his long-time girlfriend because she had anxiety issues and "wouldn't get over them" just made for a very unsympathetic character. He kept mentioning that he broke up with her for her own good, so that she would start becoming more independent. I guess supporting her never crossed his mind. Jerk!

The gore in this book is very graphic - we are talking body parts being chewed up and spit out, people being mowed down in lots of fun ways and blood, oh so much blood. If you are a gore fiend then you will certainly get your fill in this one. The action was pretty decent in the book, it really didn't drag and for the most part I enjoyed the read for what it was.

There was one glaring issue with this book though that drove me MAD!The fact that Brian was risking everyone's life constantly to save just his sister and ex-girlfriend made no sense. Why would the group of kids care about them when I'm sure they had people they were worried about as well? I mean a lot of people died trying to get these people safe for Brian and they had no motivation to do so. I can understand that some might be brave but there is a difference between brave and stupid and too many of them were willing to sacrifice themselves for Brian's needs.

Overall, I would say this is a fun read if you are into the horror genre and specifically zombies. It's not anything new but it's good way to kill a couple of hours. ...more

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Mar 28, 2016 Zombieslayer/Alienhunter {merry wanderer of the night} rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, read-2016, snort-snort-snort, the-sky-is-falling, the-pain, we-re-here, work-related

The fence around Phoenix Metro High is for the students' protection. But it also keeps them trapped-
Unless you're in with Brian and his friends, who know how to break out better than anyone.

November of senior year.
No matter what Brian and his friends do now, what they do and who they are, here in high school, it won't matter six months from now. Six months from now they'll all be off- Brian at college, white trash punk rocker Chad in the Marines of all places.
So none of this matters.
Which is go ...more

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Jun 21, 2013 Karin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013-reads, post-apocalyptic, zombies, youngadult

SICK by Tom Leveen This is a one-sitting read. SICK is fast paced and action packed. I LOVE Brian and his tough, mohawk wearing best friend, Chad. After a virus spreads through their town, they end up stuck in the theater department with a few of their classmates. The main problem is staying away from the very violent killers outside of their portion of the school. The second problem is, Brian is separated from his younger sister and girlfriend, Laura.

We see a TON of violence as Brian and Chad ...more

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Aug 11, 2014 Charley Cook rated it liked it

When I started this book I was hoping for The Walking Dead meets The Breakfast Club but yeah, it definitely isn't that. Sure this book is good, it has unique 'zombies' (more like mutant monsters) and the action scenes are pretty damn gross and cool at the same time. Unfortunately I felt very little connection to the characters, Brain was an 'okay' commentator for the book and told the story nicely but I didn't feel like I really cared about what he cared about. His ex-girlfriend Laura has a seve ...more

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Mar 13, 2015 Colleen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: apocalypse, zombies

An awesome zombie novel, with a unique spin!!! I really like Leveen's approach to detailing the events that happen during an outbreak of an infection that turns people into zombies. The details of the infections: it's causes, affects, and how it is spread are also really well done and heighten the intensity of the novel. The setting is great and the characters are relatable-- especially as they deal with the moral dilemma of do you kill or immobilize your friends that have turned into monsters? ...more

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Feb 03, 2018 Radha rated it it was amazing

I loved every bit of this book. It was a quick read for me. Quick and awesome, just what I needed after being disappointed with ACOWAR. Maybe I was already in the mood for zombies, but this book was great. Its fast paced and had just enough suspense that kept me wanting more. I wasn't particularly attached to any of the characters, which I think helped me to not be too invested in where the story was going, but was instead pleasantly entertained throughout the whole book.

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Dec 10, 2015 Christal rated it really liked it

more like a 4.5

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Sep 21, 2013 Ben Alderson rated it it was amazing

HERE IS MY VIDEO REVIEW

NO SPOILERS :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oactt...

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Dec 29, 2016 Jodie "Bookish" Cook rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewed

Book Review
Title: Sick

Author: Tom Leveen

Genre: Zombie/Horror/Apocalyptic

Rating: *****

Review: The first thing I noticed while flicking through this novel is that the whole story is told over the course of one day which I found really unique in other zombie novels I have read the story is set usually over weeks so to see a story that just deals with initial chaos which was a very unique setting and I haven’t read a lot of books like this. The opening chapter introduces us to the majority of the ma Book Review
Title: Sick

Author: Tom Leveen

Genre: Zombie/Horror/Apocalyptic

Rating: *****

Review: The first thing I noticed while flicking through this novel is that the whole story is told over the course of one day which I found really unique in other zombie novels I have read the story is set usually over weeks so to see a story that just deals with initial chaos which was a very unique setting and I haven’t read a lot of books like this. The opening chapter introduces us to the majority of the main characters, they are a rag-tag and slightly wayward group each with their own teenage problems and hopes with no idea that anything is amiss. Brian is a 50/50 character for me, initially he seemed like a good guy but at times he can come across as a little bit of an ass, especially when he talks about his ex-girlfriend and her anxiety problems – this was the reason he dumped her. In the second chapter the seeds of the outbreak are planted but we haven’t seen any of it yet except for some early stages of infection. So we are only 10% into this novel and the chaos is already unfolding especially in the hospitals and possibly the school too. I have to say I was a little skeptical about this novel as the zombie thing has been done so many times as it becomes very repetitive over time especially if you read a lot of this genre like I do, but I was pleasantly surprised with the layout and format of this novel.

By the time the real chaos ensues at nearly 3pm there was an insane amount of build-up and subtle hints at what was to come and I was really excited for this book to move forward at a fairly rapid pace which is common in zombie novels. Within half an hour the entire school and possibly the country has gone to hell, literally, the infection is spreading like wildfire and everyone is in a complete state of shock and panic with no idea of what to do. At the 1/4 mark in the novel the plot seems to be following the generic plot of every zombie novel but it has a slightly different feel and by this I mean when I have read other zombie novels they are gory but you don’t quite get the scary vibes from them, this one you can literally feel the panic each and every character is experiencing, you feel ready to run yourself and the slightest sound. Within an hour of the chaos beginning a small group of students have managed to barricade themselves in a classroom away from the madness, but Brian is determined to find his sister, Mackenzie and his ex-girlfriend, Laura who were in the eye of the storm when it began.

As we reach the half way point in the novel, Brian and a small group are leaving there haven to rescue Mackenzie from the library and possibly escape the school for good but a portion of their hope is dashed when Tara’s dad who could have accommodated more students is killed and the kids immediately begin to realize how dire the situation actually is and with no sign of help on the way and the entire city going to hell they are on their own and can’t rely on any backup to arrive in a desperate situation. After completing the insane rescue mission to rescue Mackenzie and Cammy where some of the group are lost, Brian beings planning to rescue Laura from a different part of the school where Mackenzie thinks she ran. I was also surprised that it is only about this point in the novel where the word zombie is starting to be used. One of the main objectives of the group is to get a gun stored in one of the boys (now deceased) car and to get out of the school, but Brian knowing this is taking place all over the city is beginning to question whether the city is any safer than the school. After surviving the rescue mission despite losing one person it also comes to light that Chad was bitten and is going to turn but Brian’s mother provides some ways of slowing down the infection.

As we approach the 3/4 mark in the novel Brian comes up with a plan to allow them to escape the school and to find their loved ones but he refuses to do it without Laura who may or may not still be alive within the school. His plan includes sacrificing some of their group which now stands at over 20 but Chad’s truck can only hold 12 people at a push, this may seems cruel but given their situation it is absolutely vital as they can’t risk putting themselves into the firing line. I loved how even though Brian isn’t currently dating Laura he won’t leave her behind despite the fact he has a better chance of surviving if he did. But given the type of book this is I highly doubt the author is going to kill off the protagonist in the last section of the book. As the night draws in the group manage to find Laura but she doesn’t have her medication with her to help Chad and its beginning to look like Chad will be checking out very soon as his symptoms have been rapidly worsening but Brian is steadfast in his determination not to lose anymore friends and to get out of the school alive.

The ending of this novel was amazing, when Brian thinks all hope is lost as he sacrificed his last chance at survival to save his sister, the police and his mother come to the rescue. While 90% of the school is being dealt with by the police there are small pockets of survivors like Brian’s group. Overall there was no rejoicing or celebrating but there was sad and sullen mood and as Brian puts it they feel like monsters for hurting and killing their friends and classmates and even though they survived they all feel like they lost a portion of their humanity which they will never recover. I really hope there will be a sequel to this book detailing what happened next whether they found a cure, did the epidemic gets worse and what happened to the characters. My favorite characters were Brian and Mackenzie and they propped each other up even when it felt like there was no more hope but they found it, I also felt that these two were the most developed characters in the whole book as they had the most backstory. I would highly recommend this book to everyone that likes zombie novels, survival novels or even just wants to try something a little different to what they normally read. ...more

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Dec 23, 2018 Kumbhi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-in-my-house

The FRAK.

OMG

This book was so so, don't even have the words.

It just made me think of what I would do on that kind of situation and I honestly think I would break down or raise hell and kill those (you'll have to read the book to find out).

CAUTION: Don't read at night

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Feb 24, 2017 Colin Hooley rated it it was ok

Sick by Tom Leveen is an action-packed zombie book centered on several mischievous high schoolers. Everything in the story seemed normal at first- the main characters cut class, the readers got a feel for rowdy high schooler's personalities, and the romance interests were introduced- and then the zombie apocalypse strikes. The contagious zombie disease spreads and eventually reaches the main character's high school. Among all the chaos and confusion, the unruly individuals fight for their lives, ...more

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Nov 15, 2013 Tara rated it really liked it

Shelves: giveaway-reads, own, reviewed

I received this book from RiffleYA in a giveaway. It was a free, uncorrected proof.

I wouldn't call this a "zombie" book. They're zombie-like but they're not corpses that came back from the dead.

The synopsis on Goodreads, I feel, does a disservice to the book, mainly the "Breakfast Club meets The Walking Dead as a group of unlikely allies tries to survive a deadly outbreak." tidbit. I'm a fan of both The Walking Dead and Breakfast Club and both, I feel, are pretty hard standards to live up to.
Th I received this book from RiffleYA in a giveaway. It was a free, uncorrected proof.

I wouldn't call this a "zombie" book. They're zombie-like but they're not corpses that came back from the dead.

The synopsis on Goodreads, I feel, does a disservice to the book, mainly the "Breakfast Club meets The Walking Dead as a group of unlikely allies tries to survive a deadly outbreak." tidbit. I'm a fan of both The Walking Dead and Breakfast Club and both, I feel, are pretty hard standards to live up to.
The Walking Dead is all about character development and does such an incredible job and has the luxury of taking place over months, letting the characters either prosper or spiral. Sick doesn't have the luxury of that much time nor are there any profound differences in a number of the characters. There are some distinct transitions for the characters, namely Chad and Laura, but apart from that, I don't think the few hours over which the story takes place allow enough time for significant developments. I can see the similarities in fighting off "zombies" though.

I made more connections to The Breakfast Club. The non-sick few that Brian's stuck with are similar to The Breakfast Club because they're a bunch of different kids from different groups thrown together. There aren't any real clear stereotypes presented other than "the drama kids" in Sick but, through the characters actions, we get the idea that most of them aren't friends. Much of what I appreciated most about this book though was the way the kids came together at the end. They didn't pretend as though they were all best friends forever now, much like in The Breakfast Club, but they saw that they had more in common than they didn't. Brian especially got to see sides of his peers that he didn't know existed.

Admittedly, I had to wrestle with myself to finish this book. Not because I didn't like it - once things started going insane, I had to finish - but because of the offensive things Chad said. I know people say things like that in real life because I've been right there during those moments, listening to the offensive things people say about/toward members of a different ethnic group/with a different skin color or different romantic interests, but it was equally hard to swallow while reading. This story takes place in Phoenix so it made me wonder if it's a particularly prevalent issue there or if Leveen was making a point or if the remarks were there to serve as a character arc for Chad. Whatever it was, it was still hard to accept.

My favorite part of this entire book - other than beating up the "zombies" - was the idea behind their "illness." People are infected in a stereotypical zombie-like fashion by being bitten but it's more of an illness than anything else. There's some actual science to it. Hating biology and all, I don't know how likely it is that something like this could happen but I bought it. i bought whatever sickness Leveen was selling and went with it. The presentation of the "zombies" was strange but realistic given my familiarity with other aspects of it, such as what arthritis does to a person, which was what I enjoyed. I'm a big fan of new/different takes on the same old story and Sick was a novel that did that. Leveen took a pop culture idea and spun it into a story that was action-packed, a little romantic, and almost apocalyptic.

Which brings me to my next point, my absolute favorite aspect of this story was that there was no solution. I'm a fan of endings that leave things to the imagination and don't tie up loose ends and Sick did that. We're left with the idea that there could be a cure for the illness but we're also left unaware of the scale of the outbreak and what's going to happen now that Phoenix seems to be overrun with these zombie-like people. ...more

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Sep 20, 2013 Suzanne rated it it was ok

Shelves: net-galley, peach-consideration

(This is rounded up for the book's appeal to a certain kind of YA uber-reluctant reader .e-ARC provided for review purposes from NetGalley)

I wanted to like Sick, wanted it to slake my zombie thirst, the survival genre hunger that many of us have rumbling in our guts, especially the last year or two. What do I feel like eating tonight? Putrid undead flesh and human resourcefulness fueled by unbridled fear. Sadly, Sick did not sit well with me.

On an ordinary Tuesday in November, semi-slacker Brian (This is rounded up for the book's appeal to a certain kind of YA uber-reluctant reader .e-ARC provided for review purposes from NetGalley)

I wanted to like Sick, wanted it to slake my zombie thirst, the survival genre hunger that many of us have rumbling in our guts, especially the last year or two. What do I feel like eating tonight? Putrid undead flesh and human resourcefulness fueled by unbridled fear. Sadly, Sick did not sit well with me.

On an ordinary Tuesday in November, semi-slacker Brian and his blue-Mohawked, Marine-bound buddy Chad are skipping class to scrounge lunch, and they’re not that jazzed about making it back to school for a pep rally and their stagecraft class (Wait, football pep rally on a Tuesday? Attempt authenticity.) They run into Brian’s sister Kenzie and Laura, his ex; and both guys demonstrate low opinions of those not in their tribes: football players, a gay drama dude Travis, and the rest of the school at large. Their return to school after dining on frozen pizzas on Chad’s roof comes after a disturbing news report about attacks at area hospitals and a call from Brian’s doctor mother about her travel to a town with some violent incidents.

These early scenes would ordinarily get me invested in the characters, but here Brian comes across as a slightly vanilla asshole, and Chad is a screaming asshole. Already I am weighing the gratuitous colorful epithets, like “cockgobbler” and “juicebox” against the merit of the novel and finding that it would have to be damn good for me to risk having it on my school library shelves. Is this a book I could champion if a parent decided to challenge it? Could I risk credibility with the teachers and parents who serve on my media committee as my selection oversight by saying we must provide access to this book at the secondary school? Over the course of the rest of the novel, I didn’t find enough to recommend it. If I were buying for a public library, I might get it as an adult book for less discerning or reluctant readers or teens with no parental blocks on their access, but it seems like asking for trouble in a place where access age goes as low as 13 and the book just isn’t very good. Where are the redeeming and worthwhile qualities that would make such casual obscenities just verisimilitude? Not there. I’ve worked with teenagers and in high schools for over 20 years, but these characters just seem like words on the page meant to conjure a print version of a poor movie.

Brian and Chad get back to campus for last class just as the strange infection begins to race through Phoenix. They end up barricaded with various drama peeps in the theater areas and manage some dangerous forays to attempt to find and save Brian’s loved ones, often losing others in the process before a deus ex machina sort of ending brings at least a temporary resolution. Leveen attempts a variation on the standard zombie patter by having his infected getting an extreme sort of arthritis that’s very painful and causes them to stoop into what sounds like a hunchback posture, knuckles to toes. They also form some crystalline skin scales and have an unfortunate face-melt effect. They appear, from what Brian can observe, to seek the healthy marrow inside human bones for some reason; and their bites kill some and infect others. Seeming contradictions annoy me in their depiction. If they are hunched and brittle, can they race and rampage and throw themselves at the uninfected? Give me a zombie rationale that works better and a story that works better, and I will dine on brains, marrow, whatever, but here, I would rather go hungry.
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Feb 11, 2014 Melissa Wehunt rated it liked it

Overall, I liked it. Not overwhelmingly so, but not too bad.

Likes:

1. Zombies. Who doesn't like zombies? And these were fast, scary zombies. Even if the author has his characters hesistate to call them that, thats what they are.

2. Fast paced/Easy read. I couldn't read this in one sitting because I can never pull that off. But it wouldn't surprise me if many people could. And even though the story wasn't totally awesome, it was fast paced and interesting enough to keep me reading. And that says Overall, I liked it. Not overwhelmingly so, but not too bad.

Likes:

1. Zombies. Who doesn't like zombies? And these were fast, scary zombies. Even if the author has his characters hesistate to call them that, thats what they are.

2. Fast paced/Easy read. I couldn't read this in one sitting because I can never pull that off. But it wouldn't surprise me if many people could. And even though the story wasn't totally awesome, it was fast paced and interesting enough to keep me reading. And that says quite a lot in my book.

3. Realistic portrayal of characters. While I didn't overly care about our characters, I at least enjoyed the characters authenticity. The interaction between the teens and the language used by the author felt authentic and in its own way, a welcome reprieve from the usual "i'm old and this is how i think kids talk" books..

4. Gore/Violence. I did not think this was overly violent. However, at the same time I was impressed that Leveen did not shy away from some use of gore and by deciding to end some of the key characters lives. That's not something you usually see in YA books. So I was impressed by that decision.

5. Discussion material? And while i hesistate to say this book makes a good discussion book because of the violence, the swearing, and the general horror fluff of it all...the author does manage to bring up several issues regarding humanity, murder vs. survival killing, and sacrifice for others.

6. Great for boys. This is told completely from the male, older teen perspective.

Dislikes:

1. Sickness/Curing the "zombies." I didn't really think this was necessary. Other than to have a reason for the lead characters mother to be a part of the plot, I can't figure out why they kept thinking that it might be possible to find a cure. Or at the very least, I guess I just didn't care.

2. And this is a dumb complaint that goes hand in hand with complaint #1....the hesistancy to call them zombies. Even though I totally bought the teen characters, I have a hard time believing their first thoughts while watching their friend suck marrow out of bones wouldn't be, "holy crap, zombies!"

3. Oh and the other complaint revolving around this is the insistance to only incapacitate the zombies rather than kill them. You know, cause they might find a cure. I dunno. While I respect Leveen for making us think about what makes us human, and what sickness is and all that jazz, it would have made for a better horror book to just have the kids realize they have to kill them to survive....at least faster/earlier than they did. ...more

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Sep 09, 2013 Celine rated it really liked it

Shelves: apocalyptic, young-adult, zombies

Action-packed and brutal, Sick is the archetype of young-adult zombie fiction with an intelligent background.

What would you do when one of your schoolmates all of a sudden starts nomming your drama teacher? The world has turned upside down for Brian and his friends, when an infection gets on the loose inside their fenced-in school. It turns innocent drama geeks into hunched-over monsters with no concern for their own safety, and Brian is stuck in the middle, his sister and girlfriend on campus s Action-packed and brutal, Sick is the archetype of young-adult zombie fiction with an intelligent background.

What would you do when one of your schoolmates all of a sudden starts nomming your drama teacher? The world has turned upside down for Brian and his friends, when an infection gets on the loose inside their fenced-in school. It turns innocent drama geeks into hunched-over monsters with no concern for their own safety, and Brian is stuck in the middle, his sister and girlfriend on campus somewhere.

When you've read one zombie book set in a high-school, you kind of know the drill. The kids can't rely on teachers (since they are usually the first to go down) and hole up somewhere, and eventually try to fight their way out, maybe trying to save some loved ones in the mean time. When the book is also suspenseful, you've got your standard zombie book. It takes originality and heart to make the book good, and Sick delivered that.

Apart from the zombies in Mira Grant's Newsflesh series, I haven't come across a believable explanation for zombie-ism. Sick provides an interesting new angle - instead of zombies being the walking dead, they're humans in so much pain that they don't act as humans any more. Once the human is dead, the zombie won't get up. The monsters are still human, and I loved how Brian still sees them as human. It brought along a whole set of emotions for him; are you allowed to kill another human being to save your own life? This is usually glossed over in zombie fiction, where they see zombies as essentially dead humans, with no chance of rescuing them.

Brian is of course part of the leaders of a small survivors pack. The power dynamics were quite realistic, but weren't much of interest to me. Neither was the discussion whether or not the army was coming. Everything from the extremely locked up school to that kind of political struggles are so thoroughly American and therefore alien to me that it kind of goes past me. My school had a gate that went to about your navel. It didn't have any security except for the school's assistants that also figured as concierge. There was no sneaking out, you just walked away if you wanted to skip class; the gates only closed at night. My personal experiences are so opposed from Brian's that the first few chapters didn't hook me.

When disaster strikes though, I got engaged in the story of Brian looking for his sister and girlfriend. The book is the perfect length - long enough to get some feels in there, but short enough so the action isn't drawn out. Fans of zombie fiction will eat Sick up. ...more

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Oct 08, 2013 Paul rated it really liked it

Zombies are one of my favourite monsters. There is just something so deliciously creepy about them, they properly freak me out. The best way I have found to combat this particular fear? Read as many zombie novels as I possibly can, I’ve opted for the kill or cure approach. I’m always on the lookout for a new interpretation of this particular mythology. Zombies in high school? Hell, why not.

The cast of characters in Sick include your usual high school geeks and goofballs. Everyone from the cheerl Zombies are one of my favourite monsters. There is just something so deliciously creepy about them, they properly freak me out. The best way I have found to combat this particular fear? Read as many zombie novels as I possibly can, I’ve opted for the kill or cure approach. I’m always on the lookout for a new interpretation of this particular mythology. Zombies in high school? Hell, why not.

The cast of characters in Sick include your usual high school geeks and goofballs. Everyone from the cheerleaders to the drama club gets caught up in events.

Brian is a typical high school kid. Most days when he wakes up, his biggest concerns are his relationship with his ex-girlfriend and figuring out the easiest way to cut classes. Today is different, by lunchtime everything will have changed. Large chunks of the student population are dead set on ripping their classmates apart. The rules have evolved overnight and Brian and his friends are fighting for their lives. Suddenly, it’s kill or be killed.

Of all the kids it was Chad who turned out to be a particular favourite. He backs Brian, the main protagonist, to the hilt in every decision. Chad always goes the extra mile for his friends. It helps that Chad is a bit of a nutter as well, the perfect person to help lead the charge against the violent horde. I can entirely respect any character who chooses a blue Mohawk as his hairstyle of choice.

We never really discover why the outbreak has occurred, but I don’t think this actually detracts from the story any. This is all about how people react. Who rises to the challenge and who isn’t prepared to face their fears.

Ok, ok. I suppose strictly speaking this isn’t a zombie novel, your zombie purists probably certainly wouldn’t think so anyway. The monsters here are those who are infected, not dead, but I’ll be honest I’m not going to pick hairs. That same sense of claustrophobia that I’m always on the lookout for in zombie fiction is most definitely present; the feeling of impending doom that I relish. The entire book takes place over the space of just one day and this keeps the plot suitably tense. Things start nice and slowly but build to a delightfully dark conclusion.

Sick isn’t a massive book, only a couple of hundred pages long, so this is the perfect introduction to horror/zombie fiction for any teen. I’d happily recommend this to any reader who enjoys a bit of quality zombie entertainment. When the inevitable zombie apocalypse does finally happen, it’s only a matter of time you know, reading this sort of book might just save your life. That, and a good pair of running shoes. ...more

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Sep 24, 2013 Megan (The Book Babe) rated it it was ok

Sick was kind of a weird read for me. I went into it expecting this awesome, kick-ass crew of people fighting terrifying zombies that are in lockdown with them. But I didn't really get that, to tell you the truth. While there was zombies, and there was a group of people fighting them, most of the story centers around Brian and his problems with that. I felt like Chad (my personal favorite) would have been a better main character, because he was enlisting, and it seemed like he was doing a lot o Sick was kind of a weird read for me. I went into it expecting this awesome, kick-ass crew of people fighting terrifying zombies that are in lockdown with them. But I didn't really get that, to tell you the truth. While there was zombies, and there was a group of people fighting them, most of the story centers around Brian and his problems with that. I felt like Chad (my personal favorite) would have been a better main character, because he was enlisting, and it seemed like he was doing a lot of the planning/fighting.

But since Brian was the main character, I'll talk about him. I didn't actually particularly care for him. He was so... indecisive. I felt like he didn't really know what he wanted, besides getting his sister safe. Which is a noble cause, yes. But once his sister was safe, it was his ex-girlfriend. It's like he didn't really care who got hurt trying to save "his" stuff. (Which it seems mean to call them stuff, but I'm just trying to make a generalization.)

I tried to like Brian, but... I enjoyed his friend Chad so much more! He was sweet, and even if he was prone to being a total jerk sometimes, it's still obvious that he cares. And I love what they start calling him towards the end... "Ten Ball". Like a billiards (#10 is blue stripe) ball, because of his mohawk. <3
Now, towards the end, all sorts of things started to get weird. I generally like zombie books (gross, rotting flesh eating monsters chasing people is so me), but... I felt like the zombies were kind of shallow-ish. Their part of the story wasn't as... filled out as I would have liked it to be. Not enough action or grotesque-ness, I guess. And to be honest, I never really understood where this "plague" came from. There was some kind of explanation, but I didn't really get it.This could have been a lot more dramatic, in my mind. And the ending.. don't even get me started. I thought that the ending would be the clincher-- the thing that solved all of my problems with this book... but it wasn't. All in all, Sick just wasn't the read that I hoped it would be. Chad was the absolute best part... and I can't talk about him right now.
...more

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Oct 20, 2014 Julial rated it really liked it

Shelves: form-1

In the novel Sick, the author Tom Leveen wants to show that in the face of danger sometimes one is more concerned about someone else, which may end up saving him as well. The reader can assume that Tom Leveen is someone who believes in putting other people before himself. In this book the protagonist is a boy named Brian, a senior at Phenix Metro High School. Brian and his friends are used to jumping the fence surrounding the school because they regularly ditch class, or go home for lunch. One d In the novel Sick, the author Tom Leveen wants to show that in the face of danger sometimes one is more concerned about someone else, which may end up saving him as well. The reader can assume that Tom Leveen is someone who believes in putting other people before himself. In this book the protagonist is a boy named Brian, a senior at Phenix Metro High School. Brian and his friends are used to jumping the fence surrounding the school because they regularly ditch class, or go home for lunch. One day a dangerous plague spreads throughout the country and many of the kids are infected. To save themselves from the "sick" Brian, his friend Chris and the whole drama group barricade themselves inside the auditorium, but Brian's ex-girlfriend, who has major anxiety attacks, and his sister are hiding somewhere else on the campus. Brian is determined to save them, so he risks getting infected to go out and find them. This novel is told in third person limited, focusing on Brian's perspective, so the reader knows more about Brian and why he is risking his life for his friends and family.

My favorite character is Chad; I admire his concern for Brian and his sister, who he has a crush on. When Brian and Chad wonder out of the safety of the auditorium in order to find Brian's ex-girlfriend, they encounter one of the "sick". In the process of getting away it leaps onto Chad and bites him. The infection is known to pass through saliva and blood, so Chad knows that he is going to change, but he doesn't know how long it will take. When the students come up with a plan to escape the school and climb over the fence, Chad helps fight off the "sick" that are trying to prevent their escape with no intention of escaping himself. I think I that this is very brave and shows loyalty to his friends when some people may loose hope and give up. Even though Chad knows that he has a very slim chance of surviving, he still helps his friends until his very last moment. For Chad his friends are like family, and family often chooses to save others rather than themselves because of the empathetic bond in relationships. Especially in this dire situation it is essential to work as a team and figure out a problem together.This book would be great for anyone who likes scary books! ...more

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Feb 17, 2014 Danielle rated it it was ok

Shelves: own, read-in-2015

So disappointed.

I was so excited for this book because apocalypse books are my favourite and it's Halloween time so I thought this would be perfect but nope. Not at all. I was wrong.

A lot of the characters were so problematic for me and I felt like Brian the main character didn't exactly have your standard 'character development' because on one page he was like this badass, tough kid who didn't stick by the rules and then his personality kind of changed within a couple of pages and he was super ...more

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May 02, 2014 Maddy Shornak rated it liked it

I think Sick by Tom Leveen is 3 stars. Personally I liked the book but I didn't love it. I thought it was a fun book to read I just thought it took a long time for problems to be solved and it was to spacey. Basically the book starts at a Middle School nicknamed PMS. The school has lots of security and fences due to previous security issues. A boy named Brian and his friends regularly skip school and hop the tall fences during lunch. Brian and his friends are trouble makers and they are not part ...more

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About Tom Leveen

Tom Leveen

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Tom Leveen is the author of nine novels with imprints of Random House, Simon & Schuster, Abrams, and more. He has written with Todd McFarlane on SPAWN, the comic book series, and released five independent books.

Recently an early literacy specialist with Phoenix Public Library, Tom has nine years of previous library work experience. He also has 22 years of theatre experience as an actor and di Tom Leveen is the author of nine novels with imprints of Random House, Simon & Schuster, Abrams, and more. He has written with Todd McFarlane on SPAWN, the comic book series, and released five independent books.

Recently an early literacy specialist with Phoenix Public Library, Tom has nine years of previous library work experience. He also has 22 years of theatre experience as an actor and director, and has been the Artistic Director for two different award-winning theatre companies.

Tom wrote his first story in second grade and has been writing and telling stories ever since. His first horror novel, SICK, won the Westchester Fiction Award and the Grand Canyon Reader Award. His novel ZERO was a Best Book of 2013 (American Library Association/Young Adult Library Services Association).

A frequent guest speaker and teacher, Tom has taught, paneled, and/or keynoted for SCBWI, RWA, Desert Nights Rising Stars, Phoenix ComiCon, AzLA, NCTE, TEDx, People of Color Network, Western New Mexico University, Arizona State University, Arizona Reading Association, Kennesaw State University, multiple schools and conferences throughout Germany, AETA, the Los Angeles Teen Book Fest, and many others.

In addition, apropos of absolutely nothing, Tom:

Finished a marathon (in six and half hours) and a triathalon sprint in 2 hours, earned a blue belt in Tae Kwon Do, co-hosted a public access comedy show, directed 30 plays and acted in 30 more, ran a theatre company out of his backyard, met almost all of his literary heroes except for Stephen King, played in a punk band live in front of actual people (once), prefers the Hero System but nevertheless runs a warlock minotaur and storm cleric elf when time permits, trained at the Utah Shakespeare Festival Actor Training program for five sessions, was Best Masque & Gavel Member in high school, lettered in Speech, has a rock in one finger from a pretty bad bail on his (now stolen) Tony Hawk, was the safari train driver for the Phoenix Zoo for a short time, worked in the stock room for Forever 21 for an even shorter time, completed a Spartan Sprint with three friends, and spent twenty years earning his Bachelor of Science degree.

So if there's something you want to do, go do it. ...more